Crossing Dimensions, Commander Style
by SilverAce98
Summary: Magnus and Hilla find themselves removed from their once familiar Maple World and taken to a foreign, new dimension where their powers all but exist. Will they be able to return to their own dimension, and will Hilla be able to survive living with the insufferable Nova she'd come to hate in her time as a commander? (Hilla x Magnus) (Friend Story Pairing :D)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - A Not-So-Pleasant Day

Azwan, the golden city, oasis of the sands. Once glorious, once prosperous, current population: 1.

The sole occupant lounged idly on her throne, propping her head up on her slender, pale left arm. It was just another day for Hilla, but hopefully whatever news Magnus was about to bring would break her everyday monotony.

"Where is he…" muttered Hilla. Wasn't the agreed time of meeting an _hour_ ago? She had better things to do. Well, sort of.

To be honest, there wasn't very much to do in Azwan after she sacrificed the lives of the entire populace to the Black Mage in return for power, beauty and youth. She _could_ do something about all the sand blowing around the place, but the place was in the middle of the _desert_. Try as she would have liked, the sand was there to stay.

 _Eh, I'll just make a minion do it._

With a snap of her fingers, she summoned an undead soldier and conjured a broom, and occupied herself by staring a hole into the back of its skull as it swept away as best as it could at the sand. If it had a voice, it'd probably be grumbling away about being dragged away from eternal rest to do housekeeping.

It was hot, and Hilla was about to doze off, slumping forward, when-

 **CRASH**

Azwan's heavy stone gates flew backwards like flimsy wooden doors, smashing into the walls behind them. With creaks of protest, both doors fell off their hinges, landing with audible thuds, throwing up a mushroom cloud of sand.

"What in Maple World," Hilla coughed, lifting a hand to shield her eyes. What bumbling buffoon put a foot through her doors so carelessly? She was still a commander of the Black Mage! She was going to incinerate whichever fool this was and add them to her ranks.

"I'm here~" Magnus emerged from the dust, a letter clenched in one of his large fists. "Missed me, witch?"

Hilla sneered.

"Hardly," she gestured at her poor, poor gates. "The moment you stepped into my domain, you've already caused sizeable damage to my property. You don't see me trying to break your ugly statues when I visit the Citadel. And those gates were _antique_."

"That's because you never visit the Citadel," Magnus scoffed. "It's too modern for your tastes, hag."

Hilla narrowed her eyes. Just because she was 300 years older than he was, didn't mean that she was going to let him get away with his insult.

"Please, like being 700 means that you, dear Nova, are by any extension, _young_. You've outlived or murdered everyone born within 100 years of you."

Magnus puffed out his chest at the affront, but she had a point.

" _ANYWAY,_ let's get along with the reason I had to come to this blasted desert, shall we?" he said, offering the letter to Hilla, who plucked it out of his hands with undisguised disdain. By the Transcendents, he was HOT, and not in a good way.

Hilla did her best to smooth out the mauled paper, and skimmed over the meticulously neat letter penned in what could only be in Arkarium's handwriting.

"Did you read over this beforehand?" she asked him.

Magnus shrugged. "Still haven't gotten the hang of the language in this dimension, especially the writing."

In short, he was illiterate when it came to words in Maple World. Good to know.

"700 years and you still couldn't even get used to the writing?" Hilla jabbed. "Why am I not surprised…"

"Unlike you, Miss Antique, I'm normally busy with other, more important matters," Magnus snapped back, annoyed. He just wasn't very good when it came to recognizing words in this dimension. "I don't get the liberty to spend all my time alone in my palace. Man, this place is dusty. Don't you invest in housekeeping?"

"Well," Hilla smiled flatly. "In case you don't notice, I'm surrounded by sand. It's a little hard to keep all of it out when I have open windows. Now, back to business."

 _Hilla, Magnus,_

 _Our sources have informed us that there has been a suspiciously high amount of magic activity in Heneseys. While I am hard pressed to send precious resources to investigate the matter, both of you are neither precious nor busy._

 _I expect both of you to fulfill your agreements with the Black Mage, our absolute ruler and carry out the task_ _together_ _, as is my requirement. Do it with utmost caution, as I have no further information available on the enemy's movements and would loathe to lose even more men, even if the men in question are underperforming_ _ **snails**_ _._

 _Should either of you choose not to work together in this endeavor, I would like to remind you that Nagini has been craving a live meal lately and would probably not be in the most behaving of moods should I have to call both of you in to meet me in the near future. Make of that as you will._

 _Do not disappoint our master,_

 _Arkarium_

"What does it say?" Magnus asked, towering behind the red-haired witch, trying to see if he could decipher anything over her shoulder. Beads of sweat had begun to trail down his neck, and he was seriously contemplating removing his chest plate. Is this why Hilla always dressed in next to nothing?

"The old man wants us to check out Heneseys. Some magical activity there or something," Hilla summarized.

"Yeah, magic stuff _really_ doesn't agree with me. That's more your thing." One too many magic fireballs have toasted this Nova to have him willing and dumb enough to walk into yet another magic affair.

"Unless you want to spend the next century digesting in that damned snake of his, _we_ \- and I mean WE, don't have a choice. Arkarium's orders."

Magnus groaned. The only thing they soundly agreed upon was their mutual hatred of the reptile. Nagini can go to the pits of hell for all they cared.

"Fine, but don't expect me to handle any magicians," he resigned himself to his fate.

"Like they'll be any match for me," Hilla sneered. "I didn't become a commander because I was weak."

"No, you became a commander because you sacrificed thousands of lives to the Black Mage. I call that bribery."

"Shut it," Hilla growled. Thrusting her right palm outwards, she summoned a swirling black portal. "After you," she gestured for him to step into the portal.

"This isn't another plot to kill me, right?"

Hilla rolled her eyes.

"Just go."

You know that moment of instant regret when you do something incredibly stupid like throwing yourself off the peak of Perion trying to fly? Magnus could relate.

The moment he stepped into the portal, he was freefalling. Plunging headfirst into infinite darkness with no end in sight, he felt his heart clamber into his throat as it braced itself for the ride.

It felt like an eternity, but eventually he was dropped unceremoniously onto a particularly muddy patch of grass. Taking a moment for the world to stop spinning, Magnus opened his eyes to find himself lying on his back in Heneseys park. A departure from the boiling heat of the desert, the rain pattered against his metal armor, water seeping in through the seams, chilling him.

"Lovely weather today," Hilla remarked, floating a few inches above the grass, her voluminous hair shielded by a magic field. "Never cared much for rainy places," she sniffed. "Get up, we can't risk being seen." A wave of her hand and they were cloaked in magic.

With no help from Hilla, Magnus hoisted himself onto his feet, the liquid still trickling down his back. True to her dislike of him, Hilla didn't bother extending her magic umbrella. Shrugging, he followed her to the place they were supposed to stake out. The sooner he got this done and over with, the sooner he could return to his Citadel and have his lackey, Velde- something draw him a hot bath.

They came to a small mushroom house in the furthest corner of Heneseys, where not many adventurers pass by. With the rain, the chances of adventurers walking around were even less.

Hilla crouched behind a bush and gestured for Magnus to follow suit.

"There's definitely been a large amount of magic activity here recently, but it's not new," Hilla said, feeling out the place with her magic. "The magic was cast maybe a day or two before."

"So, what should we tell Arkarium?" Magnus asked.

"I think it should be safe for you to investigate the house a little," Hilla suggested. "Arkarium's going to feed us to his damn snake if he thinks that we didn't do our job."

"Why me?" Magnus protested. Day old or not, magic was still magic. While magic had utility benefits, he definitely wasn't fond of being on the receiving end of a magic attack.

"Because," Hilla took a moment to roll her eyes. "If you mess up, it'll buy me some time to get away. Now go."

Grumbling, Magnus could only complain about it under his breath and he squished and stomped towards the abandoned mushroom house. If there was a magician hiding in wait, Hilla would hear some choice words he had for her.

His great sword in one hand, Magnus gave the door a test push with the other. Unresisting, the wooden door swung backwards with a loud creak, most of the noise inaudible to anyone outside two feet of earshot due to the pouring rain.

The house was empty. Good. Now to just give the place a sweep and call it a day.

Magnus stepped into the house, somewhat glad to be out of the rain. Below his feet a puddle was quickly growing as water trickled down and pooled.

The house smelt a little musty, as if no one had been in there for a while. Odd that Hilla claimed that magic was performed here just a day or two ago. The condition of the house said otherwise.

He walked around the living area, just giving everything a check, when suddenly-

"Now who do we have here?" a voice murmured, amusedly.

Magnus whipped his head around, trying to find the source of the sound. Who was that? His hand tightened around the grip of his sword as he moved into a battle stance.

"What, no introductions? No pleasantries, or a nice to meet you?" the voice questioned, echoing around him. It sounded like the voice was everywhere at once, and Magnus couldn't pinpoint the source.

"Show yourself," he commanded, glad that his voice didn't waver in the least. "Come out and fight me like an honorable soldier."

The voice tsked.

"There you go again, assuming who I am. I never claimed to be a soldier, did I?"

Magnus grit his teeth. This was _exactly_ why he didn't deal with magic users. There was nothing he could do if he couldn't see his opponent. He hated thieves for the exact same reason. Sneaky, dishonorable buggers.

"Relax, Magnus. Why so serious?" the voice taunted, giggling. "It's not like we're about to kidnap you. Oh wait, we are."

"Wha-"

Before Magnus knew what to do, a shockwave went through him, and the world around him began to spin.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit," the voice reassured him before darkness claimed him.

"What's taking him so long?" Hilla peeked out from her hiding spot behind the bushes. How hard could it be to do a sweep of an EMPTY house? Sure, the Nova wasn't the brightest crystal in the cave, but even he could look around and see if anyone was hiding.

"Maybe I should just check with my magic one more time, to be safe," she told herself, opening her palm to scan over the area again.

Like she checked earlier, the magic was a day old at the very least. The people in there should have left, judging by the magical signature around the house.

Wait, something didn't feel right.

Pouring a little more magic into her scan, Hilla's eyes widened.

 _There's been a concealment spell cast over this area. We've been tricked!_

Her mind kicked into overdrive, trying to come up with a plan.

 _Too late._

"Found you!" a voice cheered from behind.

 **THUNK.**

And all Hilla saw was darkness from then on.

The girl stepped out from the corner, shedding her cloak of shadows as she admired her handiwork.

The Nova commander was out cold, and if her spell held like she expected it to, he wouldn't wake up for another 8 hours, at least.

She had to do something about the fact that he was soaking wet, however. As sturdy as he was, she doubted that he was resistant to pneumonia.

"I found Hilla," her ginger-haired brother sang as he struggled to get the unconscious witch into the house. When he finally managed to, he dropped her unceremoniously next to Magnus on the hardwood floor.

"Man was she heavy."

Lily examined their handiwork. They'd done as their teacher Grendel the Wise had told them to. The trap had worked.

Snapping her fingers, Lily ignited the logs in the fireplace and conjured up some towels and blankets. They should probably dry off the unconscious couple.

"Elwin," she called. "Help me move them to the fire and dry them off. We'll wait for our teacher to give us further instructions."


	2. Chapter 2

Everything hurt.

Her head was pounding, the world felt like it was spinning under her, and she just wanted to curl up and _die_.

This entire ordeal felt like regret in a bottle. The last time she felt anything close to how awful she felt now, she'd taken a goblet from Arkarium – his best aged potion, he'd assured her, with a cold smile – and had woken up with no memory of whatever had transpired. She'd woken up somewhere in Minar Forest, surrounded by an assortment of beetles and the like.

She destroyed them all, naturally, but her sour mood didn't subside for days while her head continued to pound from the hangover. Magnus had the gall to tease her for being a lightweight, she recalled, before wincing again. Her head hurt. She couldn't think.

"Hey Lily," a voice whispered, careful to keep his voice low. "I think she's waking up."

Hilla silently thanked the fates above that he didn't raise his voice. She attempted to open her eyes, only to get an eyeful of glaring lights, which prompted her to squeeze her eyes shut in pain. Where the heck was this? Some magician's lair?

"Groan once if you're awake," Elwin instructed, standing over Hilla and casting a shadow over her face.

Hilla chanced opening her eyes again, which she narrowed icily at him before wincing in pain.

"You're still feeling that stick to the head, I'm guessing."

"Shut up," Hilla croaked out. Her throat was drier than the Ariant desert. "Who the hell are you?"

"I think it would be fitting to discuss that a little later, when the Nova commander awakes," a girl's voice spoke, from out of Hilla's field of view.

As if on cue, Hilla heard a loud snore.

"It'll be a while," Elwin offered an apologetic smile. "Why don't we try to make you comfortable for the time being?"

-.-.-.-.-

True to his word, Elwin tried to make her as comfortable as he could.

 _TRIED_ being the operative word.

He'd first attempted to help her to sit up, supporting her back and lifting her back up. He swore that she was going to be able to hold her own when he let go, but Hilla's spine failed her, given that she wasn't the most in control, and she fell back onto the hardwood floor, giving her already battered head another bump.

Hilla groaned. That bump really didn't help things.

"Sorry," Elwin winced as he watched her head thud against the floor.

Watching from her perch at the breakfast table, Lily sighed. _Elwin, clumsy as ever_.

"Move aside, Elwin," Lily instructed. "Before you accidentally kill her or something. She may be evil, but we're not murderers."

Lifting both hands slightly, Lily chanted a spell under her breath and slowly, Hilla was lifted up off the ground and seated on a comfortable couch, where she slumped over, still in pain.

"Try to swallow these," Elwin held out two painkillers and a glass of water to Hilla. "They'll help with the pain, at least."

It took a while, but Hilla managed to swallow the bitter, white medicine, all to the tune of Magnus' snores.

It took a few minutes, but soon the pain dulled down to a manageable level, where she could afford to think without wincing.

"So, how do you feel?" Elwin asked conversationally, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"Like my head was trampled by golems," Hilla muttered, fingers massaging at her temples. "What happened, and where in the name of the Transcendents are we?"

"Well," Elwin paused for a moment. She wasn't going to like this, but it wasn't like she was in any state to attack. "Wemightvekidnappedyou. Yep."

"What." Hilla narrowed her eyes, glaring at the orange-haired boy. Did he just say what she thought he said? "Would you like to repeat that, boy?"

"We knocked the two of you out and kidnapped you," Elwin repeated, in all seriousness. "It's all part of this big plot to reduce the number of Black Wing commanders we have to deal with when everyone goes up against the Black Mage."

"Yes, brother dearest, reveal all our plans to the enemy, why don't you?" Lily called from across the space.

"You think I should?" Elwin lit up. "There's so much. Where should I start…"

"I was being sarcastic, smartass," Lily deadpanned.

"Oh," his shoulders dropped. It was kind of hard for him to distinguish sarcasm sometimes. "Well, you're in a different dimension now, literally, and you're going to stay here."

"What's stopping me from using my powers to destroy this place?" Hilla asked. If he thought that she was going to cooperate like a dim-witted duck, he was severely mistaken. She was going back to Azwan and she was going to send a strongly worded letter to Arkarium.

"I wouldn't recommend trying, shamanness," Lily cautioned. "I've never placed this seal on a person before, but trying to draw magic power from your body now might just kill you."

She wanted to return, but she liked being alive too.

Hilla gritted her teeth. Okay, so her powers were restricted, but Magnus was just brute strength. She would like to see them guard against that. If she knew magicians, it was that they were very vulnerable to physical attacks.

"So just cooperate, and maybe we'll return you one day when the Black Mage is defeated." Lily added.

"Or maybe you'll like it here, and stay," Elwin said, hopefully. "It's pretty nice here."

"I'll be the judge of that," Hilla sneered haughtily. She didn't quite trust them. Sure, she wasn't dead yet, and her captors hadn't tried to hurt her, but she had to be prepared.

-.-.-.-

Magnus yawned, feeling like he'd woken up from a long rest. His body felt too heavy to move, and he noticed sleepily that he was lying on the floor. Why?

"Had a good nap, Nova?" Hilla's voice cut through some of the fogginess in his head. Why was she here?

"Get up already. I don't need to wait for you to roll over and go back to sleep like the sloth you are."

Magnus scowled. Leave it to the witch to ruin what had felt like the best nap he'd had in centuries.

"Cram it, Hilla," he growled. Opening his eyes, his gaze found a perfectly white plaster ceiling.

 _…_

 _Where was this?_

"It's a different dimension," Elwin answered helpfully.

 _…_ _did he just say that aloud?_

"Yep!"

 _Dammit._

"Okay, who the hell are you people?" Magnus asked, as he tried to get his muscles to move. All he managed to do was turn his head towards the voices, where he could vaguely see the feet of whoever was there.

"Oh, how rude of us! I'm Elwin, and that's my sister Lily. We're Grendel the Really Old's apprentices. We kidnapped you." Elwin introduced himself.

" **WHAT.** "

"Yeah, it's kinda part of this plot to get rid of all the commanders one by one. No one's going to look for you in a different dimension. There's literally an infinite number of dimensions out there."

"And what are you planning to do with us?" he supposed that they'd kidnapped the witch as well. Just his luck. Of course he'd spend captivity with that shrew.

"We're just going to leave you two to survive on your own in this strange new dimension, like our master instructed," Lily said slowly. "I think we've done you two a favor as is, since you're still clearly alive."

"Can I get up now?" Magnus sighed.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was being restrained by magic. Very few things could restrain the Tyrant of Heliseum. If magic was involved, he wasn't in a situation where his strength could play to his advantage.

"Fine, since you seem like you're taking this well," Lily relented.

Instantly, the weight on his limbs disappeared. With little effort, he was clambering back onto his feet. Near him, Hilla was sitting next to an orange-haired kid, looking worn out. Further away, a grey haired girl sat sipping a cup of tea.

"So what do we do now?" he questioned, eyeing the apprentices warily.

Lily returned his gaze over the rim of her teacup.

"You're both free to do as you like, as long as you don't attempt to return to Maple World," she answered. "A job is advisable, since you're going to have to support yourselves. Since Elwin is better-versed in life here, I'll leave him to brief you two."

Finishing her tea, Lily gestured lightly, and the teacup floated out of her hold, washing itself in the sink and settling itself gently on the rack to dry.

"I'll be leaving then," she said, shrugging on her purple coat. "Elwin, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

She muttered a spell under her breath, and a magic circle glowed a bright blue beneath her feet. In an instant, she was gone, leaving Magnus and Hilla alone with the orange-haired boy.

"Now that she's gone, let's get to the fun part!" Elwin clapped his hands cheerfully, hopping up from where he sat on the couch.

"I'll take you guys around the neighborhood, but first," he examined their attire disapprovingly. "Both of you need to change."

.-.-.-.-.

Hilla stood in front of a simple wardrobe, painted white to fit in with the theme the apartment had. Hanging inside were a few outfits for women. It was not a wide selection, but it was doable.

She took a moment to glance around the room she was in. Elwin had more or less pushed her inside and shut the door behind her, instructing her to dress warmly.

There wasn't very much in the room. A bed for one occupied the space under the bay window on one end of the room, a lamp on the nightstand behind it. A desk occupied the wall opposite the door, a single chair accompanying it. The only thing on the desk was a small standing mirror.

The wardrobe was next to the bed, which was where she stood now, trying to decide what to wear.

Hilla bit her lip. Elwin did instruct her to dress warmly, which was new for her, since she was normally one to dress in as little as possible, mostly due to the blazing sun that plagued the desert in the day.

She picked out a wool jumper and a long, flowy skirt. It would do for now. Maybe she could procure a wider variety of clothes later on.

…

"Hey Magnus, are you done yet?" asked Elwin, who was standing outside the bathroom. "Are the clothes too ugly or something?"

Magnus ignored him, choosing instead to stare at his own reflection in the mirror.

Hesitantly, he felt around his head, looking for his horns. He'd lived with a horn and a half for centuries, his stub a casualty of his fight with the Kaiser of old. Hilla enjoyed teasing him about it, since one side weighed more and he tended to tilt his head as a result.

Now, all evidence of his horns were gone. All that was left on his head was his ruffled mass of black, almost blue hair.

"Magnus, I'm getting a little worried over here," Elwin called from the other side of the door. "Did you see how ugly you were and pass out or something?"

"My horns are gone," Magnus said aloud as he looked at himself in amazement. He never minded the weight, since he was born with them, but his head felt a little lighter.

"Oh that, that's a potion to help you fit in. Some special potion Master Grendel made just for you. No one has horns around here." Elwin explained. "Now, are you going to change or what?"

Minutes later, Magnus came out of the bathroom, wearing a dark blue tracksuit. The material was comfortable, he'd give it that, but it was a far cry from his black steel armor that he made his lackey, Velderoth polish to a shine every day.

How people didn't get killed wearing clothing this flimsy was beyond him. These clothes wouldn't stop a sword from going straight through you.

"Not bad," Elwin commented, pleased with his choice of clothing. He'd have to get him other clothes, but these would do fine for now. They could buy more clothes with their next paycheck, when they start working.

"Thanks, I guess," Magnus absently scratched at the spot on his head where his horn stub used to be.

Hilla's door opened, and she stepped out, dressed in the white jumper and light orange skirt she'd picked out earlier.

 _Compared to her usual outfit that consisted of two scraps of cloth, she was practically a temple priestess_ , Magnus thought.

"Is this warm enough, Elwin?" She asked, tugging uncomfortably at the hem of the jumper. She definitely wasn't used to covering up.

"Yeah, that'll do," Elwin nodded. "Let's put on our shoes and head out. Welcome to Seoul, you two."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A New Neighbourhood

Their new neighborhood wasn't as shady as Magnus expected.

He'd thought that it'd be something more similar to Kerning City, where thieves lurked around each and every corner, just waiting to jump you and rob you blind. He'd been robbed once, when he made the mistake of trying to make an ally of the wayward but morally just Dark Lord Jin and the elusive Lady Syl in her Secret Garden. Not taking too kindly to his diplomatic envoy, rogues, Shadowers, Dual Wielders and Assassins alike had gone after him, and he was, to that very day, incredibly glad that all he lost were his purse and his dignity.

Seoul, as Elwin had called it before was somewhat the antithesis of Kerning City. For one, the sky wasn't in a perpetual state of twilight and the streets were paved with clean, white stone instead of the rough orange brick Kerning favoured. And better still, no shady individuals of questionable moralities lurked in the shadowed alleys, leering out at them. That alone made the place much more appealing to Magnus.

A soft groan drew Magnus' attention back to the red haired woman clutching at her throbbing temples. Right, headache potions, he reminded himself.

Unfortunately for him, the signs and shop names that hung overhead were in the same alien text as those used by the inhabitants of Maple World. That meaning that he could not make heads or tails of the names once again. Since Hilla was still unable to lift her head to look around, let alone read, Magnus decided to take his chances and helped her into the first luxurious looking store he came across.

"Oh, customers," a rather familiar and large head peered at the duo from behind a humongous sewing machine. "How can I help you two?" Asked Big Headward. "A suit for the gent and a nice dress for the lady?"

"Uh, no, no," Magnus declined. "I was wondering where we could buy potions for headaches," he gestured to Hilla for emphasis.

Big Headward returned a blank look.

"Potions?" He repeated, confused. "What on earth are those?"

Magnus scratched his head nervously. "Uh, I meant... medicine. Yeah. Medicine for headaches," he said. Way to go, he berated himself. Draw up more suspicion on your first day in this new world, why don't you?

Big Headward gave him an odd look. "The clinic is down the street," he said, turning back to his sewing, realizing that the pair wouldn't be buying any forms of apparel on their visit that day.

"Thanks," Magnus said, the words of gratitude only slightly foreign on his tongue. He didn't use them often, but he got the feeling that he'd be practicing them more often here. He wasn't anyone special anymore. Out here, he was just Magnus, and he wasn't all too sure if he was happy or unhappy about that fact.

Like Big Headward had mentioned, the clinic was just down the street... 4 shops down. Unable to read, Magnus had gone into every one of the shops until he found the clinic, annoying perhaps more than just a handful of patrons.

Dr. Bruce looked up from his desk, tearing his eyes away from his fascinating research on stone rubble as a rather harried Magnus escorted Hilla, who was still clutching at her temples into the clinic.

"Can I help you...?" Dr. Bruce asked, secretly afraid of the hulking man hauling his red haired partner through the door. His forte wasn't really in pharmaceuticals, but rather research on rubble of all sorts. However, his mother, a doctor herself had insisted, and since she was the one paying the fees...

"Is this the clinic?" Magnus asked warily. The last shop he went into, a cafe had belonged to a rather irritated middle aged lady, ("What do you mean, CLINIC? CAN'T YOU READ THE SIGN?!) and he was quite rudely shooed away (with a tea towel whip, no less).

"Y-yes," Dr. Bruce stammered. "Could I help you?"

Magnus sighed in relief. He finally found it.

"I need some pot — medicine for my companion," he gestured towards Hilla. "Do you have anything for a headache?"

"Yes, of course," Dr. Bruce turned to the shelf behind him and grabbed a row of tablets. "Take one of these Paracetamol tablets and she'll be right as rain," he assured Magnus.

Magnus looked doubtfully at the tablets in his hand. Usually it would take a whole bottle of potion of cure a headache, but this man was claiming that only one of these miniature tablets would do the trick? This world was odd, he thought.

"Just swallow it with some water," suggested Dr. Bruce.

"Could you get me a cup, then?" Magnus asked. The sooner Hilla took the medication, the better.

"Sure, of course, right away!" Dr. Bruce scrambled away into his back office to get some water.

When he returned, Magnus handed Hilla the tablet and gave her the glass of water.

"Take it," he urged her. "And I'm sure you'll feel better in no time."

"Okay.." Hilla winced and put the tablet in her mouth, washing it down with the water.

"Sorry for barging in like that," Magnus apologized.

"Uh, it's alright, really," Dr. Bruce replied. He was still rather intimidated by the man though he had just watched him coax his companion into taking the medicine.

"We're new to the place," Magnus said. "It's been a...rough transition for us."

"No kidding," Hilla added, her headache finally leaving her. Thank the transcendent for fast acting medicines.

"Better now?" asked Dr. Bruce, to which Hilla slowly nodded.

"At least it doesn't feel like my head is going to explode anymore," Hilla said. With more clarity now, Hilla looked around the small, but neat clinic. It was white, clinical (well duh) and completely and utterly boring. Man, if the entire dimension was this dull, she was going to scream. How could anyone live in such a monochrome world?

"So the medicine will be 700 mesos," Dr. Bruce said, taking the coins from Magnus. "I'd advise the lady to drink lots of water and to take more rest. She'll feel right as rain in no time."

"Sure," Magnus replied. "Thanks again."

The two left the clinic and wandered back into the streets. Now that she wasn't inclined to keep her eyes squeezed shut in pain as her head pounded out a rock and roll beat, Hilla's eyes curiously took in the new world around her.

It wasn't as dull as she feared. Other colours did exist here, which was a welcome sight.

She was particularly interested in a certain boutique of vibrant clothes of all shapes and sizes. Those dresses! Who knew that they came in so many styles? Hilla wanted to make a beeline for the store, but since she was still holding on to Magnus' arm for support and that they had an admittedly limited budget, she walked on, crying herself an ocean on the inside at losing the chance to shop in a new place like this.

Magnus' stomach decided to start an opera at that moment, Hilla's joining in for the chorus. Both flushed red from their necks to the tips of their ears as they glared at their shameless stomachs for their blatant announcement. But the point was clear: they needed food, and soon, if the noises coming from their disobedient stomachs were any indication. Goodness knows if other people had heard them. How embarrassing.

"Why don't we go to that food stand over there?" Magnus suggested, leading Hilla to a food truck manned by an old lady at the side of the main road. There were a good number of people milling around the truck, looking at the goods the old lady had to offer. The business seemed popular, especially with young people in uniforms.

"This is great, isn't it, Irena?" A red haired, oddly familiar girl squeaked happily as she bit into her food, some sort of meat on a skewer, her face turning red from the sheer spiciness. "The food here is way better than the canteen food!"

The green haired girl, also disconcertingly familiar, arched a critical eyebrow at her friend's remark. "You do know that the cafeterias in school serve nothing less than five star gourmet food, don't you? Although," she took a bite of the meat, causing a little saliva to pool in Hilla's mouth. "This actually is pretty good. A little on the spicy side, but good."

"Could we have some of those?" Hilla asked Magnus, staring hungrily at the girls.

Magnus looked at her, slightly surprised. "Sure," he said. He never figured that she'd be the type to ask nicely. From his experiences, the people she asked normally had the end of a glowing, sparking staff swirling with evil energy pointed at their throats while she asked her questions.

"Can we have two of what they're having?" Magnus asked the old lady, jerking his head briefly in the direction of the two girls.

"Of course, dearie," the old granny smiled, taking out two rice cake skewers and handing it to him. "That'll be 1,540 mesos," she said.

Magnus very narrowly stopped his eyes from popping out of his head at that. 1,540, that was a pretty big number for such small snacks...

Reluctantly, Magnus handed over the cash and a small part, one miniscule, microscopic part of him cried on the inside at the expense.

"Here," he passed one skewer to Hilla, absentmindedly taking a bite out of his own. It tasted fairly good, until the burning began.

By the transcendents, it was HOT. The burning intensified, scorching his throat as he coughed and hacked and wheezed, trying in futility to stop the fire blazing where it seriously should have never been. Hilla, who had yet to bite into her own skewer looked at him, startled as he started wheezing and hacking.

"Magnus?" Hilla asked, rather alarmed. Even the students surrounding the food truck had stopped to stare in alarm.

"Here, drink this," a hand offered Magnus a yogurt drink. "Quick."

Eyes watering, Magnus gratefully welcomed the thick, cool liquid, noting with relief that the burning had finally stopped.

"Many thanks," he gasped, wiping away sweat and tears. "I definitely hadn't expected that."

"I can see that," giggled the distinctly girlish voice. "The rice cake skewers can be quite spicy to those who aren't used to the taste and flavour, but its quite good, isn't it?"

"I guess," Magnus shrugged and stood up to look at his savior.

He froze.

Hilla had frozen long ago.

Before them, smiling with serene grace was the platinum blond haired empress of Ereve, Cygnus, the number one enemy of the Black Mage.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Employment

"…"

Hilla and Magnus held their silence, their minds working overtime to confirm that the figure standing before them was no mere hallucination.

Cygnus tilted her head curiously, looking at Magnus. "Is there something on my face?" she asked, self-consciously lifting a hand to her face to check.

"…"

Cygnus' face changed into one of concern for the silent Nova that seemed to be frozen in his tracks. But her attention was drawn away when a voice called to her.

"Hey, Miss Cygnus!" The green-haired girl from earlier waved, walking towards Cygnus with her red-haired companion close by. "Fancy seeing you out here without President Neinhart."

"Oh, hi Irena. Neinhart was busy with the month's accounts," Cygnus said nonchalantly. "I just decided to come out alone to buy some snacks."

Irena then noticed Magnus, who had recovered and was trying his best to edge away from Cygnus. "And who is this?" she all but physically pounced.

"I don't know!" Cygnus replied sunnily. "But he seems like a nice guy."

Irena pinned Magnus in place with her narrowed gaze. "Right," she murmured.

A trickle of perspiration crept down Magnus' neck. He somehow felt as if he was a mouse being cornered by a cat.

"Hey Cygnus!" The red-haired girl piped up, hugging Cygnus from the back. "How are ya?"

"Oz!" Cygnus cheered, squeezing Oz.

Hearing their names aloud, Hilla finally made the connection. Oz, Irena, they were commanders under Cygnus. By the transcendents, what had they gotten into?

It seemed as if Magnus had made the connection as well, seeing as how he had doubled his efforts in order to get away.

"Are you new to the area?" Cygnus turned her attention back to Magnus, effectively halting his escape efforts once more.

"Uh…yeah, I-I am," he stammered.

"You seem familiar though," Cygnus observed. It took Magnus considerable effort not to squirm. _Remember, this Cygnus isn't going to kill you. She's just as powerless as you are!_

He shrugged. "I might have been…around," he excused lamely.

"We're just around the area looking for jobs," Hilla came into the conversation, saving Magnus from what seemed to be almost an interrogation. Magnus shot her a thankful look, grateful for the reprieve.

"I'm looking for a nurse and a PE teacher, if you're interested," Cygnus suggested kindly. "And it's not far from here, just that school over there." She pointed towards a large, gated building in the near distance.

"I did have experience nursing some time ago," Hilla murmured. Yeah, maybe several hundred years ago, before she decided to condemn the entirety of Azwan. Small detail.

"And I suppose I can teach PE," Magnus said. Every male Nova has had military training for the first thirty years or so of their lives, even him, before he set his goals at tyranny. If he could withstand all those years of grueling training, he was certain he could handle a group of students. If not, the numerous methods of punishment he'd accumulated throughout his time could always be put to use.

"Then that's settled!" Cygnus declared. "You two can start at Shinsoo International School on Monday next week. I'll take you to the school later so Neinhart can give you two the grand tour of the school. It's still fairly new so we don't have that many students or teachers."

"Sure," Hilla agreed uneasily. She was pretty sure there were supposed to be more questions involved before one were to offer employment.

"Why don't we go to a nearby café for something to eat first?" Cygnus suggested. "My treat. I'm quite sure that Neinhart won't be done so soon. He always tends to triple-check all his work."

Irena shrugged. "Sure."

"Yay! FOOOOOD!" Oz cheered.

Cygnus had lead them off to a café nearby where Hilla and Magnus, despite their first impression with the rice cake skewers, got to try food that wasn't quite so hot. In fact, Hilla had taken to an odd crescent shaped pastry she had liberally coated in butter that Oz called a croissant. Magnus was awkwardly making his way through a plate of spaghetti with a fork. Okay, perhaps it was more stabbing at the spaghetti than actually consuming it. You couldn't blame him, he'd never used cutlery before. And neither had the adventurers he'd seen, nor Hilla. They just… ate.

"You can twirl the spaghetti around the fork, silly," Oz showed Magnus. "Really, the way you eat, it's as if you've never seen a fork before!"

 _If only she knew…_ thought Magnus.

"Don't be silly, Oz," Irena scoffed, sipping at her orange juice. "You're starting to sound like those novels you read are getting to your head."

Oz smiled cryptically. "Maybe, maybe." Then she burst out into laughter, drawing more than just a few curious stares from the other people in the café. "I'm just kidding."

They'd been sitting there for a while now, just nibbling on their food, basking in the awkward silence. Cygnus didn't really seem to notice, given that she was still smiling gently as she looked up at them occasionally from the small rectangular thing in her hand.

"So…" Oz started out of the blue. "Why'd you two come here?"

Hilla turned to look at Oz in surprise at the sudden question. She was still trying to get used to seeing the commanders acting completely civil to them. It wasn't all too bad, she thought.

"Things just… happened where we came from," she said. "And all of a sudden, we just found ourselves here, without much evidence of our past lives."

"I understand," Cygnus smiled understandingly. "My father, the head of the Shinsoo Group also suddenly sent me here to manage the land he'd acquired. With Neinhart's help, we built up the new building of Shinsoo International School and our first ever semester will start next week."

"I heard my name," a male voice said from behind the group. Hilla also noted that this voice was eerily familiar…

"Neinhart!" Cygnus exclaimed. "You're finished with the accounts already?"

Neinhart, with a thick ledger wedged in the crook of his left elbow, pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and regarded Cygnus with a cool look. "Of course I did, Miss Cygnus," he said. "What kind of student president would I be if I didn't?" He then remembered that he didn't really need his glasses outside of work and stowed them away in his pocket. "Hello Oz, Irena."

"President Neinhart," Irena nodded curtly.

"And who are these?" Neinhart ran a calculating eye over Magnus and Hilla, who were trying not to stare at the former advisor and tactician. He looked very different in a school uniform and with glasses instead of that stupid monocle, too. However, the aura surrounding him was the exact same, about a hundred degrees colder than the surroundings actually were. Cygnus, being Cygnus didn't notice and continued to smile brightly at him.

"These are the new school nurse and PE teacher, Neinhart," she explained. "They are…?" she glanced towards the duo, who in their short time with them had yet to give their names.

"I'm Hilla," Hilla rushed to fill in.

"Magnus," Magnus said uncomfortably.

"Miss Hilla and Mr. Magnus," Neinhart repeated, emotionless. "I suppose I am to give them the customary tour of the school grounds in order to have them acquaint themselves with the facility?"

"Yes please, Neinhart," Cygnus confirmed. "I'll stay here with Irena and Oz," she continued.

"That, you cannot, Miss Cygnus," Neinhart stated. "Your driver is already waiting for you at the gate. You will have to return with me, posthaste."

Cygnus' face dropped into a mask of sadness. She got up, her eyes mournfully on the ground. "Okay, Neinhart…" she said.

Neinhart turned to leave with the young miss, but paused for a moment, turning back to address Hilla and Magnus.

"You two, come along," he ordered. "I'll show you around the school today."

As they left, Cygnus told the café owner to put the bill on her tab and walked along meekly beside Neinhart as he led the way to the school. Hilla got the feeling that Cygnus didn't have much freedom to be on her own with friends much. If she thought about it, that probably went the same with the Cygnus in Maple World. She was surrounded by her Knights, but wasn't allowed to travel around like other people had the luxury to.

As soon as the young heiress had been delivered into the safety of her personal driver, Neinhart led Hilla and Magnus into the school. It was now late into the evening, and golden orange light filtered in through the windows, dousing all they could see in sunset.

"On the first floor, there's the first year's classroom, the staffroom and the student council room," Neinhart said, leading them along the corridor. "Mr. Magnus, you'll commandeer this desk as your workspace," he explained further, indicating towards an empty desk. "A schedule will be issued to you detailing your class times and the curriculum you are to go over on Monday. You are also to be properly attired at all times as long as you are within school compounds."

Neinhart then led them up a few more flights of stairs to the third floor, where the nurse's office was located. He unlocked the padlock on the newly renovated room and took them in.

"This will be the nurse's office," he explained. "It has all the basics, first aid kits, band aids and a few cots for students to use. I don't expect any major accidents to happen within the school, in the event of which you should call emergency services instead of attempting to treat on your own."

He clapped his hands once. "That about sums up our tour," he sighed with finality. "Of course, do feel free to explore the rest of the school on your own free time. Do either of you have any questions before we conclude this brief tour?"

"What time do we come in?" asked Magnus.

"We expect staff to arrive in school by 6:30 am before class starts at 7:30 am. Assemblies will be held in the school hall every Monday morning at 7 am, for which all staff, including you, Miss Hilla will be required to attend along with the entirety of the student body to be briefed on the week's events. You will clock out at 5 pm, after which you will be free to leave the school compound. In case you ask, lunch will be provided by the school cafeteria daily for all staff," Neinhart said.

"At current, your salaries will be 1,000,000 mesos each per month. At the end of the academic year, said salary will be reviewed and might be subject to change depending on your performance at work. As expected of both of you, you're to be attired appropriately for work daily. Any mishaps will also be recorded for perusal in your annual review, for which penalties may be imposed on your annual bonuses."

Hilla and Magnus blinked blankly, taking in the information. Neinhart sighed.

"I shall include a briefing of rules in the contract the two of you will have to sign when you come in on Monday," he said. "It's not too hard, even for those of average intelligence." Hilla had to keep from retorting at the sarcastic remark. She might have also had some modicum of respect for the usage of sarcasm from a person in this world. At least it wasn't lost on everyone.

"That will be all," Neinhart began leading them back out to the school gates.

As the duo were leaving, Neinhart called to them once more, and they halted in their steps, turning back to look at him questioningly.

"Just to make things clear to you two," Neinhart stated icily, his face partially covered in shadows cast by the overhead streetlamps. "I took you in on Miss Cygnus' words, seeing as how she is the heiress of the Shinsoo Group and the owner of the school. However, should it ever be made known that the two of you actually do have ulterior motives towards the sole heir of the Shinsoo Group, I will not hesitate to have you two removed from the premises or even put into custody." He looked them both straight in the eyes, unflinching.

"Have I made myself clear?" he asked.

Mutely, Hilla and Magnus nodded.

"Good," he said, closing the gate on them and locking it.

In silence, the two of them walked back to their apartment, their minds struggling to make sense of what they had just been through.


	5. Chapter 4:5

Chapter 5.1 – Elwin's POV: A Day in the Life of a Totally Awesome Guy

So, the day after Lily and I dropped the two now ex-commanders of the Black Mage in the apartment we (but mostly me, the amazing Elwin.) lived in up till then, I decided to go back to help our guests adjust to their new lives. I know, how nice of me to do so! It's definitely not as if Grendel told me to or anything. Honest.

I walked in after I had a nice lunch at a café down the street to see the two still tucked away in their beds – you know, if being 'tucked away' meant lying haphazardly half-on, half-off on a single bed with sheets tangled around their limbs – still asleep. And of course, being the awesome guy I am, I used a minor voice amplification spell that I mastered through countless hours of practice to give them a gentle wake up call.

"ALL RIGHT, UP AND AT 'EM SLEEPING BEAUTIES!"

There was a short pause before I heard simultaneous yells and muffled thumps as the two probably fell off their beds. And after that I might or might not have heard them curse me for it in escalating volumes as they wrenched their room doors open on the opposite sides of the apartment to get to me.

Hilla made it first. Before my ninja reflexes could kick in, she'd already tackled me backwards, shaking me, albeit kinda weakly since she was still drowsy. Despite the drowsiness though, if looks could kill, cement would've already been poured over my grave. Magnus didn't look all that great either. His eyes were bloodshot and there were designer bags under his eyes. He also looked about ready to toss me out the front door like a ragdoll, probably as rough as he could possibly manage. Also, he was missing a shirt. I swear, you could break rocks on those abs. And forget six packs, these are eight. EIGHT. Thinking about the six pack I had… in the fridge, I feel insignificant now, thanks a lot.

"What in the name of the Transcendents are you trying to do?" Hilla growled, looking disoriented and livid in her cat-print pajamas. "Shatter our eardrums?" At this point, she had stopped shaking me, but she still looked mad enough to have thrown a couple more curses in my face. You know, if she hadn't lost her powers and everything.

"Don't kill him yet, witch," Magnus growled, cracking his fists. "I want my turn as well."

Hilla's head whipped to face Magnus so quick I'd thought she'd had whiplash. "Don't you dare call me that."

Oh dear… I definitely didn't sign up for the early afternoon drama. That was more down Lily's alley, in my opinion, with how she just loves to stand back and watch things unfold.

"Okay, okay," I tried to break their fight up. This only really turned their wrath onto me.

"Don't interrupt us, you moron."

And that was how I ended up standing to the side as the two ex-commanders started confronting one another. Again.

"I've absolutely had it with you, you worthless slime," Hilla seethed. "I've been NOTHING but hospitable to you ever since Arkarium sent us on that stupid mission. And you, all you've done is throw all that in my face."

"Oh please," Magnus spat. "You? Hospitable? Don't make me laugh, witch."

Shots were fired.

"I JUST TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT." Hilla looked ready to kill. And thank the Transcendents, it's not going to be me dead this time.

"So make me," Magnus taunted. "I'm a wall of solid muscle, Hilla. And I've been training to fight all my life. You're not going to do anything to me."

Her fists clenched. Weak or not, I still don't quite entertain the thought of getting caught in this crossfire. Lily would just laugh at me if I came back with a bruise on my face from a girl, never mind that she was a commander under the Black Mage.

"Hmph," Magnus smirked, smugly smiling at the shorter, red-haired woman, whose hair, might I add, is currently resembling a Griffin's nest. "Guess you can't."

Her eye twitched. Was she thinking what I was thinking?

Before I knew it, she'd dashed forward, and her foot had connected with his side, where his muscles did less to negate the pain.

Nope.

Well, it wasn't quite what I'd hoped, but I guess it'll do.

Magnus bent forward a little, out of protective instinct. He shot Hilla a glare as his arms went to protect his vulnerable sides.

"Watch it, Nova," Hilla hissed. "I won't hold back next time."

"You'll never be able to beat me in a fair fight, sorceress," he retorted. "Always using these cheap hits. Don't provoke me if you can't handle it."

"You started it," she said. "So it's not my problem."

"You're crazy."

"Still not as crazy as you are, tyrant."

I sighed.

"Before you actually end up injuring one another," I walked in between them. "Let's just take a moment, count to ten and relax, okay?"

Hilla audibly inhaled and exhaled, still fairly riled up. "I'm going to my room," was all she said before she walked stiffly back into her room, slamming the door behind her as loud as she could.

"That's right, witch," Magnus muttered. "Run away, like you always do. I'm so sick of you." Soon enough, he went back into his room to clean up as well, though he didn't slam the door this time.

I decided to warm up some food for them in the microwave. Being the generous person I was, I'd gotten takeaway pizza from a deli on my way here. They probably didn't know how to cook, anyway.

"So why are you back here, mage?" Hilla asked, walking out of her room a while later with her hair tamed and pulled back into a bun. She'd changed out of her PJs into a white long-sleeve and track pants. I could tell that she was still wary and slightly mad, but the fact that she hadn't reached for a knife or anything was comforting, to say the least.

I shrugged. "You know, just helping you guys get used to living in this dimension. It's a big, dangerous world out there."

She raised a brow. "I see."

"That, and I'm just a really awesome guy," I joked. That got a half smile out of the lady. Actually, when you thought about it, she didn't look too bad if she didn't have a scowl on her face all the time.

I put the plate of cold pizza into the microwave, and Hilla watched, hypnotically as the plate spun round and round.

"The world is developed," I told her. "We have electricity, water, technology,"

"Technology?" she asked.

"Yeah," I gestured to the electronics in the kitchen. "All these devices are pieces of technology. They're all powered by electricity."

"What about magic?" Hilla questioned.

"No," I said. "There's no magic here. But life is much easier here, if you use things like smartphones and computers."

"What?" Magnus asked, joining us.

I did a double take. What in the name of the Transcendents was he wearing? Sure, a t-shirt with sweatpants isn't a big problem, especially since you're at home. However, one does NOT wear orange with green. Is this guy colourblind or does he naturally have bad taste? Maybe his mom just dropped him on his hard head one too many times.

Hilla noticed as well. "I know you're stupid, Nova," she sighed. "But you're colour blind too?"

"It's not like colour distinguishing skills will keep a soldier alive on the battleground, now would it, witch?" he hissed in retaliation. "But I'm sure you've put that particular skill of yours to use when you brought the entirety of Azwan to ruin."

"Well," Hilla gritted her teeth. "At least I now know why no one was ever interested in courting you, tyrant. And you've been a ruler for how long now? Two, three hundred years?"

"Okay, okay, enough fights already," I groaned. At this rate, I'll never get to help them

adjust to life in this place. And life here is definitely very different from life in Maple World.

I took out the two brand new smartphones I'd gotten for the two and gave it to them, and I was treated to their awestruck expressions as they examined the device. Technology is amazing, especially when it immediately silences two people who really can't go a day without arguing.

"These are smartphones," I introduced, showing them my own and pressing the home button. I swear, their eyes got even wider when my phone lit up. They're so cute like this, like little kids at Christmas. "You can touch the screen when it's lit up to interact with it. Using it, you can call or text someone else."

"What." They said synchronously, giving me blank looks. I sighed.

"See this phone icon," I tapped on the button, bringing up the dial screen. "You press this before you key in someone's phone number to call them." Again, I was greeted with silence.

This was going to be a very long day.

A/N: Hey, sorry about the earlier updates that didn't actually show. Had to take down the chapters due to some issues. I hope you've somewhat enjoyed this chapter. Chapter 5 will be out soon. It's just in the editing stage and will be finished in the near future. Thanks for your support!


	6. Chapter 5

Hilla fingered the hem of her white lab coat as she stared moodily out the window. It gave her a bird's eye view over the school yard, where few people were walking around. It was still pretty early in the morning.

She'd gotten up early, leaving the apartment before the sun had gone up. It was breathtaking, watching soft, pretty colors dye the clouds in the sky as the sun rose in the distance. She'd never really seen something quite like it before. It looked a little like Kerning City, which was steeped in twilight for what seemed like forever, but lighter, full of the promise of change.

After Elwin left them on Saturday, their argument had loomed over them like a miasma. None of them wanted to apologize, especially since they didn't like one another to begin with. In the end, they spent most of the day in their rooms, away from each other.

Yesterday, Elwin had dragged in his sister, Lily to help her acquire new clothes for her empty wardrobe, while he did the same with Magnus.

Lily had been alright, though Hilla noticed that she didn't seem all that comfortable around her. It was expected, given what Hilla used to do up till the last couple of days. But together, they'd bought what Lily had said that she'd need to look like a resident of this magic-less world. It wasn't cheap, either. The previously well-stocked purse was now a lot flatter than it used to be. The lab coat was more of an afterthought towards her new job. Elwin had said that nurses wore those, and insisted Lily get one for Hilla.

When they'd returned to the apartment, Magnus and Elwin were already back, and were busy watching some kind of sport that involved a lot of physical tackling on the weird black slate mounted on a wall in front of a comfortable couch. And while Elwin had given them a hearty greeting, Magnus hadn't done so much as glance at her for a moment before returning his attention to the moving pictures.

It had hurt a little, though no one was going to hear her admit it.

She spent the rest of her day arranging her plethora of newly-bought clothes into her wardrobe. They didn't buy that much, since they were working with a budget. Lily told her to buy more once she was financially stable. Occasionally, she'd think of summoning her minions to do this mundane task for her, and her hand would reach out for her ever-present staff, only for it to grasp air, a painful reminder of her current state.

Hilla sighed, resting her head over her folded arms on her desk, continuing her moody gaze out at the scenery. This new world was interesting, she'd admit. But it was full of so much that she found new and odd, and she wasn't sure if she could adapt. She was, quite literally, thousands of years old. For goodness sakes, she was older than Magnus by three hundred years, not that she looked like it or anything. It just meant that if either of them had a better chance of adapting, it'd have to be him.

She missed the familiarity of Maple World, her place in Azwan, her position as a Commander under the Black Mage, even. At least she knew what to do there. In this place, Seoul, was it? Everything confused her.

There came a knock on the door.

"Good morning, Miss Hilla," Neinhart greeted politely as he stepped into the infirmary.

Hilla sat up and forced a smile on her face. "Oh, good morning, N-neinhart." She was going to have to get used to seeing the empress and her advisor around the school.

"You're early today," he stated.

Hilla shrugged. "It's the first day of work, so I'll have to make a good impression, don't I?"

An echo of a smile hinted at Neinhart's lips. "I suppose so, Miss Hilla. Have a good day," he said, and left, closing the heavy door behind him.

He's a perfectionist, thought Hilla wryly. Even in this world.

Hilla slumped into her chair. Work was going to be tough. With any luck, all five of Cygnus' captains would be in the school as well. Only the Transcendents would know what could come of this now.

Magnus shuffled the papers on the desk he was assigned a few days ago. Hilla had left before he had gotten up, something he only realised after he spent five minutes knocking on her door to no response.

Really, she wouldn't even look him in the eye for the last couple of days. Women like her were way too complicated to understand, even if the answers were written on a scroll right in front of him.

He was in an all-blue tracksuit for the day. Elwin had told him to never EVER wear things with different colors unless under counsel of someone with some knowledge in fashion at the very least. And since Hilla might actually be avoiding him, he was probably stuck wearing things in the exact same colors top and bottom (and underneath) for the foreseeable future.

His schedule was in completely indecipherable gibberish to his eyes. He scratched his head in frustration. Didn't Elwin or even Lily have magic or something that could let him understand the writing here? It was going to make life incredibly difficult for him.

"So you're the new PE teacher," a voice spoke, so coldly it sent frostbite down his spine. Magnus twitched. He knew this voice…

"What, all high and mighty now, new teacher?" the voice continued. Magnus forced himself to turn towards the source of the voice, confronting his fear.

"No, sir," he said. "I'm Magnus, it's… nice to meet you."

"Hmph," Arkarium sniffed.

"Arkarium, the Biology teacher."

"I see…" Magnus murmured.

Arkarium ignored him, turning to pick up a black snake from the glass tank on his desk. Affectionately, he stroked the cold, dark reptile who absolutely languished in the attention. Even here… Arkarium still had his damned snake? Were snakes even allowed to be kept like this in this world?

"Are you going to continue staring, Mr. Magnus?" Arkarium questioned, not bothering to look back from his darling Nagini.

"Uh, of course not!" Magnus stepped back. "I'-I'll go back to my work now." He then sat on his chair and began to look busy with his paperwork. Not that he could read any of it…

A short while later, the first bell of the day rang, saving Magnus from any more questions from Arkarium. A hint of fear squeezed at his chest. If Arkarium, of all people, was here, what was to say that the others weren't here as well? He then laughed aloud for a moment, which was okay since Arkarium was gone by then. He was being silly. Just because Arkarium was here, it didn't mean that all the other Black Wing commanders are going to be. Why he bet –

"So are you, like, the new PE teacher or something?" An arrogant, refined girl's voice called from the entrance. Magnus froze. You have got to be kidding me…

"Uh, hello?" Orchid called to the immobile man sitting at his desk like a statue. "Mister?" Seriously, what was up with the people at this school? If it wasn't super prestigious and run by the heiress of the Shinsoo Group, she would never have given this place a second glance.

"Orchid, what are you doing here today?" Neinhart politely intervened. "Did your filming season wrap up early?"

Orchid tossed her head lightly, swishing her pigtails. "You could say that," she smirked. "I am an idol after all."

"I see," Neinhart smiled lightly. "If you'll excuse me, I have to speak with Mr. Magnus here."

"Fair enough," Orchid turned around on her heel. "He's the new PE teacher, right? Just remember to tell him that I won't be attending gym, thanks! I'll see you around, student prez." Saying that, she sashayed her way out, like a true idol.

"Is everything alright?" Neinhart asked. "The required documents have been prepared and left on your desk, but if anything's missing, go ahead and tell me."

"Everything seems to be fine," Magnus replied. "I can handle it," he hoped so, anyway.

"If you say so, Mr. Magnus," Neinhart nodded. He produced a small slip of paper and passed it to Magnus. "Here's my number. While I do not entertain casual calls, if anything should arise regarding matters about the school, you can call me. Have a good day, Mr. Magnus."

"You too, Neinhart," Magnus said, watching the advisor take his leave. Well, that was nice of him, he guessed.

As the first bell rang, Hilla's stomach grumbled in complaint. Since Magnus had been in the living area the rest of the day after Elwin and Lily's departure, she'd remained hidden away in her room, and thus missed dinner. She was starving.

There probably won't be anyone coming up to the infirmary so early in the day, she thought to herself. She was sure she would have a little time to go down to the cafeteria for a little nourishment.

Her high heels clicked as she made her descent down the stairs. These were absolute beauties; white pumps with small crystals on the front that she'd bought with Lily yesterday. There were plenty more in the shops, but she was satisfied for the moment with one pair. And what darlings these were. It was a good thing that she was used to these shoes. Otherwise, she'd be stumbling around like that muscle-brained oaf.

As she made her way down, she saw someone with long, grey hair ascending the steps. From the angle she was looking down at, she couldn't quite make out who the person was. But there was a curious black thing laying around his – wait a minute, was that a snake?!

The person noticed that she'd stopped moving and looked up at her.

Hilla screamed.

"This way, Mr. Magnus," Hawkeye lead Magnus out into the courtyard. A group of students were already gathered and waiting in their sports attire. "Our first PE class of the year, awesome!"

Magnus allowed himself to be tugged towards the waiting group of students as he pondered his duties as a teacher. He also absently noted what seemed to be a scream coming from the main building.

Arkarium raised one grey, long brow. "What is it that you deem worthy to voice your concern in decibels too high for the indoors, young lady?" he asked, his voice as cold as it had ever been.

"Yes, Miss Hilla," Somehow, Neinhart had appeared behind her. "What seems to be the matter?"

"U-uh…" Hilla hesitated. She really shouldn't say it was Arkarium, that was a little too obvious and probably a little too rude for her first day at work. "Snake?" she pointed at Nagini. Well, it wasn't a lie. She hated Nagini.

A clipboard came out of nowhere, hitting the back of Arkarium's head with a resounding thwack!

"Now what did I tell you about that pet snake of yours, Arkarium?" a voice spoke, gruffly. Following the voice, a new, slightly familiar face appeared.

"Nagini isn't a pet, Mr. Stan," Arkarium remarked coolly, stroking his coal black snake. "She is a companion."

Mr. Stan rolled his eyes. "Companion or not, Arkarium, I don't want to see you carrying her around like that. You'll scare the students."

"Hmph," Arkarium sniffed contemptuously, turning and stalking back down the stairs without another word.

Now that Arkarium was gone, Mr. Stan turned his attentions to Hilla.

"You're the new school nurse, if memory serves. Welcome to Shinsoo International School, Miss Hilla," he offered a hand to shake. "I'm Mr. Stan, and I work as the head of academic affairs."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Stan," Hilla smiled, recognizing the gruff chief of Henesys.

"Now then," Mr. Stan addressed Neinhart. "What was it that you wanted to talk about, Neinhart?"

"Come this way, Mr. Stan," Neinhart gestured. "We'll leave you be now, Miss Hilla."

Once again, Hilla found herself alone, her mind racing to process the fact that Arkarium, of all people was here. If he was here, who else existed in this world too?

.


	7. Chapter 6

Magnus was confused. There were questions he had about this world that he had yet to find answers to. It was natural, he guessed. He'd only been in this world for about four days.

He shuffled and tidied up the papers covered in unintelligible script on his desk, placing it down in the dim light cast by the setting sun outside the window. It was past five in the evening, and most of the staff had already gone home, leaving him alone in the staff room.

Neinhart had tasked him to handle the new sports equipment earlier that day, and that's how he'd spent all his time after his classes. He was done with the task now, and was beginning to feel the signs of tiredness upon his shoulders. Rolling his shoulders to relieve some of the fatigue, he left the school grounds for the apartment he shared with Hilla.

It's still hard to swallow, the fact that he had to share a living space, and a rather small one at that, with the witch he so sorely despised. She got on his nerves, calling him an assortment of names so colourful, he couldn't quite remember all of them. She didn't even bother trying to be nice to him at all, even though they were thrown into this new situation.

Magnus' fists clenched unconsciously. What in the name of the Transcendents had he ever done to her? He hardly recalled interacting with her, much less getting on her bad side. So why was she so bloody hostile?

He could've sworn that they had more in common than they had in opposition. He hated the adventurers and heroes with a passion, as did she, and they were both rulers of their own worlds. In fact, they were pretty happy, ruling their territories with iron fists.

…

…

…

…was he? Was he really happy, ruling over Heliseum the way he did? With that green-haired lizard boy at his beck and call and his other subordinates always cooped away in their own rooms? Did he really enjoy his reign of terror and chaos over the land he killed the late Kaiser with his own hands for?

Magnus sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Looking around, his feet seemed to have taken him to a nearby park instead of his intended destination. With nothing else to do, he sat down on a bench and let his mind continue to wander.

If he had to be honest with himself, no, he wasn't. At least not anymore. Perhaps, a hundred years or so ago, he would have languished in the fear and terror his name struck into hearts. But now, as an incredibly lonely person with no actual friends to speak of with a citadel almost completely devoid of life under his rule, he just felt hollow.

On hindsight, the one taking the sudden change hard was most likely Hilla. He had wanted change, pretty much welcomed his new life in this odd, alien dimension even though it was a little difficult for him, with the alien writings and all. She most likely hadn't.

He hadn't had much to lose to begin with, a life of isolation and hatred with an empty home, all of which he'd gladly traded over for a second shot at life. Hilla on the other hand had endless power, eternal beauty and a colossal palace in the sands she had sacrificed all the people in Azwan for. That was everything she had ever desired, and that was all she needed to be happy in her life as a ruler over a city of dead. She never wanted to give it all up like she did, and he figured that she had to be incredibly upset on top of everything else.

He had to confess, he didn't _hate_ Hilla. She was pretty, though her makeup was rather excessive. She's been looking better in this world since she didn't have access to any makeup. Heaven forbid if she does get her hands on a bucket or two of the stuff again.

Her clothing choices had improved, though being that _he_ was the one talking about it, there wasn't much merit to the statement. Hilla used to wear nothing but scraps back in Maple World, which honestly left absolutely _nothing_ to the imagination, not that he hated it or anything. But it was the same thing day in, day out. He could only admire the same outfit so many times. There was so much more variety in her clothing choices in this world. He did quite like the wooly white sweater he saw her wearing under her white coat during lunch that day. And with her brilliant red hair done up in a bun, it really drew attention to her warm, amber-honey eyes…

 _AHEM._

Right, then, Magnus concluded hastily. He should probably try to be nicer to Hilla. Not like he liked her – he definitely didn't, yep, for sure – but maybe so they could achieve some kind of truce between them. It would be nice to live peacefully without having to be on tiptoes around one another, especially since they live together. Who knows, maybe he could even be friends with her one day. Though, chances were incredibly slim, if you asked him.

With that settled, Magnus got up off the bench. He decided to pick up something from a store for dinner and maybe make peace with Hilla over that.

He couldn't read, but he knew what a tasty-looking meal looked like. He'd bought two servings of what the waitress at the cafe called macaroni and cheese and set that out on the table along with the weird utensils people apparently ate with in this world. It smelled good enough to eat. He hoped it tasted good, too. Now, did the pointy one go on the left or the right…?

Now to call her out.

Cautiously, Magnus knocked on the door opposite his. He heard a soft ruffling sound coming from the other side.

"…yes?" Hilla's sleepy, confused voice reached his ears.

"Uh… would you like to come out?" Magnus asked, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I bought dinner."

"Oh," Hilla said. "Sure, just give me a few minutes, I guess."

Magnus and Hilla sat across from one another, awkwardly eating their macaroni in silence. Magnus _had_ wanted to start a conversation, but all the words seemed adamant to lodge themselves in his throat.

"So, how was your first day of work?" Hilla asked, softly. She hadn't bothered to look up, choosing instead to focus on her dinner.

"Uh, it was okay," Magnus stammered. "A lot of sports equipment to be sorted and stored, nothing exciting."

"Oh."

"…yeah."

And once again, awkward silence took its place in the room.

"So… what about you?" Magnus all but forced himself to ask.

"It was okay," Hilla responded quietly. "I saw Arkarium around today. Didn't expect to see him and that snake of his in this world too."

"At least this Arkarium isn't so inclined to feed us to Nagini than the other one did," Magnus joked weakly.

Hilla cracked a small smile. "Yeah, I guess so."

The awkwardness now somewhat at bay, Magnus and Hilla continued to talk a little more, and Magnus felt a little more hope in his heart. Maybe this would work out after all.

…

"What do you mean I _DON'T NEED MAKEUP?_ "

…maybe not so much.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Someone New

Inside a perfectly normal house in the suburbs of Seoul, the heavy wooden doors of an ornate wardrobe flung themselves outward as if thrown open by a powerful burst of wind from inside, revealing a shimmering portal that was a rippling mirror into a completely different world.

This image, of the inside of what seemed to be a cozy home with wooden furnishings rippled like water on the surface of a lake, and that image suddenly distorted and shifted like waves in a storm as a figure was unceremoniously ejected from the portal, landing on the wooden floor of the one-person bedroom with a muted _thump_.

Regaining his bearings on the rather uncomfortable wooden floor, the charming, handsome and devastatingly attractive Kinesis slowly got up, dusting himself down. At least he was in one piece, as promised. He didn't quite trust in Elwin's magical abilities, let alone a portal of his creation.

Glancing out the small window, he noticed that he definitely wasn't in the same neck of the woods as the city he used to live in before the whole fiasco that brought him to Maple World. Speaking of that dimension, wasn't that adventurer going to come along?

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, as they say. The image in the portal was once again shifting and distorting as one booted foot stepped through followed by another as the white-haired Demon Avenger emerged easily, stepping out onto the wooden flooring of the room. Why was he the unlucky one who hit dimensional turbulence on the way over?

"So this is your world?" the adventurer asked, pushing back some of her long white locks as she observed the view out the window.

Kinesis scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, though it doesn't look like the place I used to live in. That's further away."

The Demon Avenger nodded. "It feels boring here, though," she commented. "No monsters to hunt, no quests to do… what do you people normally do every day here?"

"I'll tell you some other time," answered Kinesis. It would take more than just a few minutes to explain how the world here operated, and they had a quest to complete. Cover for Prefect, who insisted on staying in Maple World instead of attending school like she was supposed to, and find out if Elwin's little accident with the portal had caused any disturbances to this dimension.

-.-

'It is _way_ too early for work,' thought Hilla sleepily, barely lifting her cup of coffee to her lips. It probably didn't help that the blue-haired student council president was fast approaching.

"Miss Hilla, Magnus," Neinheart spoke, sitting down across the two still-drowsy commanders in the cafeteria. "Mind if I talk to you both for a short while? It's about the school's activities on Fridays."

"Hm?" Hilla questioned, rubbing her eyes as she looked up at the blue-haired student council president in question. "What is it?" It was still pretty early in the morning. Class was only due to start in an hour, at 7:30.

"The school has extra-curricular activities every Friday until 5 in the evening," Neinhart explained. "Since some of the staff can't stay back on Fridays, we're in need of a couple more club advisors. I want you two to take over those positions, nothing too hard."

"Uh…okay, I guess," Magnus said. "What do we have to do?"

"Just watch over their gatherings, make sure they stay in their own areas, the general things," Neinheart elaborated. "You don't necessarily have to involve yourself with their regular activities."

Hilla took another sip of her black coffee. That didn't seem so bad. It wasn't as if she had very much to do after work anyway. Although, once she received her pay, she had some (alright, a **lot** of) shopping to do. Lilly's selection of clothes were functional, but she wanted more variety, and perhaps shorter hemlines.

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, with quite little to do on Hilla's end, to which she responded by eventually… dozing… off…

"Miss Hilla?" a hand gently shook Hilla. "Miss Hilla, wake up," said the voice.

"Just five more minutes, dammit," Hilla mumbled, not moving from where she rested her head on her arm on the desk.

"Miss Hilla," the voice insisted, shaking her shoulder again for emphasis.

"Buzz off, Nova," annoyed, she sleepily swatted a hand at the stranger.

Just then, a loud bang went off in the room.

"HOLY JUMPING ZOMBIE MUSHROOMS!" screamed Hilla, jolting upright to look for the source of the loud noise. Her frenzied amber eyes eventually found the culprit; a rather sheepish looking Hawkeye with a burst plastic bag in his left hand.

If she had her magic now, she definitely wouldn't have passed up the chance to properly smite this annoyance from existence.

"Hawkeye!" Oz scolded from where she stood next to Hilla.

Hawkeye continued to grin sheepishly. "At least it worked," he attempted to joke.

Hilla glared at Hawkeye, her normally warm amber eyes somehow sending chills down his spine. 'If looks could kill,' Hawkeye thought, 'I'd be pushing up grass, weeds and daisies here and now.'

"Ooh you, you, meanie!" Oz cried, pointing at him while waving her other arm comically. "Just you wait, I won't share my snacks with you for a week, so there!"

Hawkeye gasped in sheer horror. "No snacks for a week?!" he exclaimed. "Oz, you know I can't live without snacks. Please don't do this to me." He begged.

Oz turned her head away from him, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well," she said. "If you apologise, maybe I'll consider not punishing you."

Hawkeye immediately kowtowed, sliding to a halt right in front of Hilla's desk.

"I'm very sorry Miss Hilla for what I did," he apologized. "Oz, please don't take away my daily snacks."

Oz sighed. "It's not like you wouldn't try to steal it from me regardless, anyway. You're forgiven," she tugged him up.

"You really should apply for the drama club though, Hawkeye," she added. "You can change your behavior at the drop of a hat to suit what you want."

Hawkeye scoffed. "Ha, I'll stick to being the captain of the basketball club, thanks. Anyway… I'll be going now. Don't wanna keep the guys waiting." With that, he left before Oz could do anything to him.

"Well, now that _he's_ gone," Oz said, pulling Hilla up. "Let's go down to the club room and meet the rest. We haven't had a teacher advisor until now. To the meeting spot we go!"

"On your knees, peasant!" Magnus demanded, bringing his bamboo sword down hard on his opponent.

"Never!" Mihile growled, falling into a defensive stance, blocking the blow with his own bamboo weapon. The surrounding students cheered as their captain deflected the attack, stepping back into position.

Magnus had walked into the gym where the kendo club was having their weekly practice, having been assigned as their new teacher advisor. They had actually been managing okay, since Mihile kept the club activities running smoothly in the absence of a teacher. But as he saw them sparring back and forth with their practice swords, he had to insist that they take a break as he challenged their captain to a "real" sword fight, and not just their practiced formations.

This was the most fun he'd had in a really long time. He grinned almost manically at the sheer joy of swinging a sword at an opponent for fun. When had he last enjoyed himself while fighting – or even in doing anything else? He truly savored the feeling of blood pulsing through his veins as he continued his relentless assault, muscles straining with the welcome exercise.

"Where," Mihile gasped, "On God's green Earth," He paused to deflect another heavy blow, "Did you learn to fight?" His teacher definitely didn't learn traditional kendo. Magnus' movements were wild, obvious, and incredibly powerful.

Magnus shrugged, taking another swing at Mihile. "I used to train as a soldier a long time ago. Swordplay was a large part of it." Mihile managed to dodge the swing by a fraction of a hair, prompting the crowd to gasp in unison.

"If that's what military conscription is like, sign me up," Mihile countered, to which Magnus parried.

"That was a long time ago, though," Magnus sighed. Indeed, over some two thousand years ago when he was still an impressionable youngster who hadn't tasted the forbidden fruit, hadn't desired more power than he had within his hands. How far he had come since then.

Mihile shrugged. "Some things tend to stay the same after a long time," he stated, matter-of-factly. "Just not all of it, sometimes."

Magnus could relate. "While his reign of terror over Heliseum had remained about the same for several millennia, he, its ruler had grown much more lackluster, much less satisfied. Immortality did that to people, he guessed.

In that short lapse in attention to make space for Magnus' inner reflections, Mihile had decided to take a cheap shot, knocking Magnus off balance and onto the sparring mats below, officially declaring his win, however dishonorable it may be.

"Hey, foul play!" Magnus protested, getting back on his feet.

Mihile feigned innocence, swinging his bamboo sword onto his shoulder with practice ease. "There's no foul play on the battlefield, sir. You should know that fair well."

Magnus growled, good-naturedly giving in… _for now_. "Don't hold it against me when I give you a good beating next time, then."

"If you can," Mihile shot back, amused. "I'll be here, every week. But for the remainder of this session," he turned back to face the club members. "All of you, into your practice stances. We'll do a quick warm-up and continue where we left off last week."


	9. Chapter 8

Big Headward, owner of what was definitely the most fashionable uniform parlor in all of Seoul looked up from his work at his gigantic, gold sewing machine to the new customers he had entering his domain. He was busy completing a uniform order from a very important customer, though he still catered to new clients, albeit reluctantly.

His new customers were in quite the state, dressed in what could only be costumes. The boy was wearing what looked like a fancy robe with pointy shoes and a jester's hat. He was undeniably handsome either way, with smoldering grey eyes and an attention-drawing aura about him. Even though he was dressed as a fashion travesty, Big Headward would still bet money that he could still turn heads in that state.

They looked incredibly odd, though. Was this the "cosplay" he'd heard of?

The girl was just as odd. Big Headward felt shivers trail down his spine as she leveled her emotionless red eyes at him, one eyebrow slightly raised as if to ask, _what are_ _ **you**_ _looking at?_ She was clad in a fashionable uniform-like dress that ended mid-thigh and combat boots and her snow white hair only made her look more like an avenging ghost. Also, _was that a GLOWING SWORD_ _on her back?!_

Big Headward plastered a smile to his face. They were still customers, after all, cosplay or not.

"How may I help you two?" he asked.

"Hm," The white haired girl hummed quietly, looking to the boy with jet-black hair who was still looking around the boutique. "Kinesis, why are we here again?"

Kinesis flashed Big Headward a stunning smile. "We're looking for uniforms for our first day at Shinsoo High School. I'm sure you're more than qualified to attend to us, being that your shop is the most prestigious boutique in all of Seoul."

Big Headward flushed red and beamed proudly.

"Indeed, you'll find no tailor better than me," he crowed. "After all, my shop caters to only the very elite!"

"So," Kinesis smirked. "What options do you have for us?"

…

The explorer and Kinesis walked out ten minutes later, wearing reasonably smart uniforms. While the Demon Avenger had little problems settling for the cheapest available uniform, which was 50 years behind modern Korean fashion and made of scratchy black cotton. Kinesis' finer tastes had been gravely insulted, and he insisted that they pick something better. Eventually, they settled on fairly comfortable uniforms, but the explorer was still none too pleased.

She shot a disdainful look at her deflated money-pouch. The uniforms had not come cheap, but Kinesis said that it was necessary, so she reluctantly went along with it. Maybe she could save some money if she didn't have dinner that day…

"Alright," Kinesis said, leading his partner towards the school. "Remember, people here don't use swords or have magic, so don't simply go around doing suspicious things. Whatever is here could notice and hide from us."

The white-haired girl nodded, removing the glowing desperado strapped to her back to store within her leather messenger bag. "I will try to remain inconspicuous, Kinesis," she promised. "This world seems to differ greatly from Maple World. If the people here are without powers of any sort, how was it that you became an esper?"

Kinesis' thoughts flashed back to his discovery of his abilities, his days at headquarters with Jay, the fame he had built up throughout his short stint as uptown Seoul's own hero and the meeting of that mysterious man that had led up to the appearance of the sinkhole that dragged him into Maple World. It had been a rollercoaster, and while he had come out better for it, meeting the many amazing people that resided in that world, he missed his old life, just a little.

"It's a long story," Kinesis replied. "But we have a mission to complete right now, so maybe some other time."

Without any further deliberation, the two set foot into the enormous compound that housed the most prestigious academy in Seoul.

-.-

"ALRIGHT, THE LOT OF YOU," Magnus yelled, his students scrambling to gather in front of him. "Today, we will play a nice, _long_ match of dodgeball. You all know the rules."

Naturally, everyone rolled their eyes skyward and groaned. To be honest, Magnus had no idea what dodgeball _was_ , but it was among the sports Elwin had briefly listed when asked and it involved throwing balls around. How dangerous could throwing around some rubber balls be?

"You with the brown hair," he pointed at Hawkeye, "And you," he pointed at a random student. "Follow me to the storeroom to get the things we need"

Mihile busied himself, taking charge and leading the still slightly sleepy class through their stretches while Eckhart, being Eckhart stayed in the back, going through his stretches on autopilot as he couldn't help but feel that something felt like it was about to change. A rather strong breeze blew through the field, rustling his hair like the leaves in the trees. _Something was definitely changing._

-.-

"Oh!" Cygnus exclaimed daintily as the errant breeze tugged her favorite handkerchief out of her fingers and placed it at the very top of a tree, where it snagged on a branch and fluttered playfully.

Kinesis smirked. "I've got this," he said, effortlessly using his psychic ability to vault to the top of the tree in an instant while Cygnus and her chauffeur had their attention drawn to Magnus' impressive volume as he barked out further instructions to his students to divide into teams. Like a cat, he jumped back down soundlessly and proffered the dainty square of silk to the surprised young heiress.

"One handkerchief for one beautiful princess," Kinesis charmed, his velvet voice crooning over the words. The adventurer wasn't too sure whether to be amused or annoyed by her partner's performance, but he _was_ the type to lay it on thick sometimes.

"Oh my," Cygnus breathed, gently accepting her handkerchief. "Thank you, sir."

As she tucked her handkerchief back into her fashionable but sensible leather purse, Cygnus took a longer look at Kinesis.

"You look familiar. Have we ever… met before?" She asked.

"I would remember if we have," Kinesis flirted. "No one could possibly forget someone as beautiful as you are."

Cygnus looked apologetic and slightly worried. "I don't mean to offend, sir."

Kinesis smiled reassuringly. "Don't be sad, my darling. You're more beautiful when you smile, after all."

Hearing that, Cygnus beamed, her smile seemingly lighting up the world. Her chauffeur didn't look too pleased about some rogue charming his mistress, but said nothing. The adventurer absently noted that the chauffeur was going to swing a car lock into the back of Kinesis' head if he kept flirting with her, though. It wouldn't kill him or anything, but it would hurt.

"Sure, I'll call you if I need anything. Thanks for the help, Cygnus!" Kinesis thanked the heiress as she walked away. He looked at his phone, where her contact was already keyed in. "Never mind that she's already given me her number before in the past."

"You knew her?" asked the adventurer.

Kinesis shrugged. "It was at a student council gathering before the whole esper thing. Elwin put a glamour on me, so no one is going to recognize me, don't worry."

"I hope it holds," the adventurer mumbled." Because your behavior is definitely no different."

-.-

"Hey Miss Hilla," Oz trilled, skipping into the nurse's office with Irena following not far behind. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing well, thank you, Oz." Hilla smiled. She still had to remind herself that these girls weren't the Knights she knew, but it was hard to be guarded around the bubbly red-headed girl she was growing to like.

"Say," Oz plopped herself on a chair. "Have you heard about the prophecy that's been floating around?"

"Prophecy?" _There were prophecies in this world?_

"Yeah," Oz leaned towards Hilla, like she was about to divulge in a _very_ important secret. "Everyone's been talking about this mysterious transfer student that's coming to our school. Something like, if the student's a boy, he'll steal Cygnus' heart and marry her. If the student's a girl, they'll be best friends forever with Miss Cygnus! How mysterious!" she squealed excitedly at the end.

Irena sighed, taking a seat next to her friend. "It's just a rumor someone bored with life made up, probably," she said, flipping open a novel she had in hand. "Oz likes to share around gossip she picks up."

"But aren't you curious, Irena?" Oz turned her wide, curious eyes on her friend, who was definitely more interested in her book than the "prophecy". Finding no support from her best friend, she turned to Hilla. "You're intrigued, right, Miss Hilla?"

"I – I guess…" Hilla answered.

"I wonder who the mysterious transfer student will be!" Oz squealed excitedly. "Do you think there's a prophecy for me out there?"

"Maybe..." Hilla murmured. The world was an odd place. You never knew what could be around the corner. One day you could be an all-powerful sorceress of a lost kingdom, the next, a nurse, lost in a world you didn't quite understand.

"Didja hear that Irena?" Oz sat down excitedly next to the reading girl. "There's a prophecy out there about me!"

Irena sighed, flipping the page. "That's great, Oz" she replied, her eyes flicking left and right as she continued to read.

And so continued recess, with Hilla indulgently listening to Oz talk about her day, and Irena using her precious time to devour her novel. But all things had to end, and the bell rang, signalling the end of their time.

"Bye Miss Hilla!" Oz waved before she followed Irena out. Hilla waved back, a smile on her face. Maybe it wasn't so bad in this world. It was nice to be able to go about her day without wondering whether an errant adventurer was going to kick open her doors to challenge her or not. Life in this world was quiet, peaceful, and a little bit boring. She briefly wondered what Magnus was up to, but she was sure he was occupied with his own business.

-.-.-

Magnus was wrong. Dodgeball, whatever this...this _game_ was supposed to be, it was going horribly wrong.

The class had gotten bored of playing against each other, and when Magnus' back was turned, it only took one prankster to start absolute **mayhem**.

"Watch this," Hawkeye grinned, slyly swooping up a dodgeball left on the floor. He took aim, held his breath and _let it fly_.

 _ **Thunk.**_

He wasn't called Hawkeye for nothing. The dodgeball bounced off the back of Magnus' head, and there was a moment of silence as the class watched in horror, and then came **war**.

From every angle imaginable came dodgeballs. Dark orange balls of hardened rubber hit and bounced off Magnus, and while it didn't hurt, the sheer force of tens of dodgeballs coming at him at a time pushed him back a little.

Magnus raised an arm to defend himself, but he was getting nowhere. He had to strike back. In the name of good fun, of course. He'd teach them a thing or two about ambushing their PE teacher.

Taking a chance, he reached out and snatched a dodgeball before it hit him. He grinned evilly.

"Let's play, then."

-.-.-

"Attention students," Mr Stan cleared his throat. "We have some new students today,"

Gesturing with his right hand at Kinesis and the adventurer, he continued.

"They will be joining your class from today onwards. Why don't you two introduce yourselves?"

Kinesis naturally stepped forward with a confident grin, winking at a student. "It's nice to meet you all. My favourite word is 'destiny', and my favorite board game is chess. I'd _love_ for one of you lovely ladies to play with me one day." The girls swooned there and then in their seats.

"Why don't you say a couple words as well, young lady?" Mr. Stan encouraged the adventurer.

Biting her lip, the white-haired girl stepped forward. There was a shift in the way the boys sat. Many leaned forward to look at the beautiful girl with pale skin, snow white hair and crimson eyes.

"I- I'm new here," she said, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "I like training and hunting monsters. I hope we can be friends." She absolutely hated being put on the spot, but for the sake of the mission, she kept it to herself.

"Training and hunting monsters…?" A girl whispered to her friend. "What?"

"Maybe she plays games," her friend answered, equally confused. The first girl shrugged.

"Alright, pipe down you all," Mr. Stan said gruffly. "Pay attention to class. You two can have whichever empty seats there are."

"Absolutely," Kinesis flashed a grin and signalled for his companion to follow him to the back of the class where two empty desks waited for them.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hi everybody! So, I'm not sure if you guys get notified when I replace a chapter, so for now I'll just keep deleting and reposting this to show the progress. As of now, the new chapter 2 is up. It's definitely WAY better this time, I promise ;-;

Progress:

Chapter 1: Finished!

Chapter 2: Finished!

Chapter 3: Up Next!

Have a nice day, everyone!


End file.
